The Magic Stone aka Shikon no Tama
by Cohran
Summary: This was inspired by the 2nd CCS movie. Ya know the play that they never finished? S+S. Also a lot of Inu-Yasha thrown in, pure accident. Please R&R. Luv ya. Oh! (IY/K, S/S)
1. The Princess

The Magic Stone (aka Shikon no Tama) - A Story involving CCS and IY characters  
  
Note: This story was inspired by the play from CCS Move #2, The Enchanted Cards. It does not follow the plot of CCS or IY. Hope it isn't too weird. I'm also sorry that I can't write! This story is also a write-as-I-go story.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from CCS or IY. I am just borrowing them for this 'story'. Enjoy.  
  
*****  
  
Long ago, in the country of Shao-Long, there lived a priestess whose name was Kikyo. She protected the Shikon no Tama, a magic jade stone that could grant the wishes of anyone who had powers given to them from birth. Many people wanted this jewel, but the priestess was extremely strong. No one knew how to defeat her. However, Kikyo fell in love with a man named Aki who was in love with a heavenly being more beautiful than Kikyo named Ceres. Although Kikyo knew this, she kept on loving Masago in hopes that he would lose his love for Ceres and turn to love her. When Masago and Ceres were wed, Kikyo had no reason to keep living. She aimlessly wandered with the jewel to the four corners of the Earth. Youkai from all over began sensing that the protector was losing her power. So they attacked the priestess. Kikyo eventually bled to death because of the youkai and the Shikon no Tama disappeared. (This is MY story.) Legend has it that before Kikyo died she had hidden the stone somewhere that only she knew. The legend also says that it would reappear again and there would be war, a long war, which in the end, no one would win and many lives would be lost. However, if only the key to the future takes hold of the stone, then this tragic end will surely never come into being. A human as well as a demon will protect the key to the future. It will also be in the company of a priest. That is all that was ever known about the key.  
  
  
Princess Sakura Kinomoto looked up from her books and sighed. She had read the passage over and over again, yet could not figure out what the key to the future was. Opening the window, she watched two little butterflies fly by. It had been 3 years since the start of the war for the Magic Stone. Her father, King Kinomoto had declared war on a neighboring country when they stole the Magic Stone from the temple. Since then, both countries have been vigorously fighting. It's just as the legend says, there would be a long war when the magic stone reappeared.  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK! Sakura whirled around towards the door. In came Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko. "Sakura, tomorrow night is the night of the annual ball. I really want you to go and have fun for a change."  
  
"Mother," Sakura replied. "I don't need to go the ball. I have to study about the Magic Stone more in order for the war to end. If I find where the key to the future is, then - "  
  
"You worry too much, my daughter." Nadeshiko interrupted her rambling daughter. "Come now, stop worrying about the war for one day, at least. You are tired out by the stress."  
  
"There is no need. I am alright." Sakura sat down in front of her desk and began reading the passage again about the priestess Kikyo.  
  
"Sigh." Nadeshiko looked behind the door. "Keroberos, please go get Yukito. I need someone to get her out of the state she's in."  
  
"Right away, your highness." The guardian beast rushed to follow the beautiful queen's command.  
  
*****  
After about 5 minutes, Yue arrived. "I thought it would be faster if I flew here." He told them. Then, he changed into Yukito. "You needed me, your highness?"  
  
"Yes." Nadeshiko began to explain. "You know as well as I do that for the past three years, my daughter has been studying about the Magic Stone in hopes that we can win this war and get the stone back. She has studied so much that lately that she hasn't been doing much else. Luckily, this ball is coming up, but Sakura refuses to go! Yuki, please convince her to go. I know that she will listen to you."  
  
"Yes, Queen Nadeshiko." Slowly, he approached the reluctant princess. "Sakura-chan."  
  
Sakura jumped off her chair for about a foot. "YUKITO!!!" She embraced her brother's friend with a huge hug.   
  
"Hey, anything bothering you?" he asked her with concern in his voice.  
  
Sakura backed away, looking puzzled. She shook her head and smiled. "Nope."  
  
"Are you going to the ball tomorrow?" He asked her politely.  
  
"Um..." Sakura didn't know what to say. I don't want to go to the ball but...  
  
"Sakura," Yukito began. "You still haven't found the one you truly love yet, have you?" Sakura shook her head. "Then why not go to the ball? I'll bet you that you'll meet that someone special there." (Note: Sakura has not met Syaoran yet.)  
  
"Well... are you going?" Sakura asked brusquely.   
  
"Well, tomorrow is the Yam festival, so I'm afraid I can't go. However, Keroberos will be there, along with Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, ... oh! And your brother, Touya. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun." Yukito smiled. He hoped that Sakura would go because Yue, the voice inside him, told him that Sakura was sure to meet that someone special there. Just then, King Kinomoto and Prince Touya stomped in.  
  
"Sakura! You are going to the ball no matter what you want to do!" Touya screamed at his sister. "If you don't, ..."  
  
"Our name in the country will be tarnished forever and I will be charged for lying to the court!" King Kinomoto finished.  
  
"Father, did you promise the court something?" Sakura asked, knowing that her father tended to make promises that he had a hard time fulfilling.  
  
"Honey, what did you do?" Nadeshiko began polite.   
  
"Well..."  
  
"OUT WITH IT!" The queen was getting impatient.  
  
"The court men were asking why my daughter never appeared in public and asked if she was deformed or ugly. I informed them that our daughter was the most beautiful in the land and that she would make her appearance at the next ball. They said that they'll be expecting her and that if I don't, they'll tell the entire nation that the Kinomoto family is a family full of liars and we will lose control of the country." King Kinomoto sighed.  
  
"You see?" Touya looked at his sister in contempt. "You have to save our family name before you save the lives of others."  
  
Is honor that important? Sakura questioned. "Very well, I will go." The princess said after much thought. Nadeshiko jumped up smiled, Keroberos did a flip in the air, Yukito laughed at Keroberos, Touya began rambling on how the ball will be a disaster, and King Kinomoto sighed. Thank goodness!  
  
*****  
  
A carriage stopped in front of the Kinomoto castle. The servant opened the door for a young man with black shades. "So, this is the Kinomoto castle." The young man said.  
  
"Yes, the princess will be appearing tomorrow night." The servant told his master. "I hear the princess is very beautiful."  
  
"Tomorrow will be an exciting day. Something big will happen." The young man entered inside the carriage and instructed the coachman to go to Fisher's Inn.  
  
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How did you like my first chapter?! Who is the young man with shades and what is going to happen at the ball? Is this young man Princess Sakura's special someone? Or is he out to cause trouble? 


	2. The Prince

The Magic Stone (aka Shikon no Tama) - A Story involving CCS and IY characters  
  
Okay, this is my second chapter that I wrote recently, so I'm sorry if the writing style changed. (I think I got worse, but anyway...) Hope you like it!  
  
Disclaimer: Blah blah... the usual.  
  
*I DON'T KNOW IF I WILL CONTINUE THIS FIC, SO PLEASE R & R AND LET ME KNOW WHETHER I SHOULD OR NOT.*  
  
  
*****  
  
Chapter 2  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK! Sakura whirled around and opened the door to her room. At the door was her mother, Nadeshiko. "Sakura, are you ready?" Nadeshiko looked at Sakura in her beautiful pink dress, which was slightly ruffled. Her hair was perfectly combed. Giving a nod of approval, Nadeshiko commanded Sakura to come with her. The young princess floated down the hall behind her mother, the queen.   
  
About halfway down the hallway, Keroberos greeted her. "Princess," he addressed her. "Please put on your smile that we all love and treasure." Sakura smiled at Keroberos. He was so sweet and always knew what to say. Sakura walked past Keroberos after giving him a kiss on the guardian's forehead.   
  
The queen and princess finally met up with Prince Touya at the door to the ballroom. With him were Tomoyo, Rika, Chiharu, and Naoko. They had come to accompany her to the ball even though they were just her servants. Sakura had come to think of them more as friends. Queen Nadeshiko instructed Touya to take care of Sakura and she left for the ball.   
  
As the queen hastily went through the doors to greet the guests, Touya glanced at her sister with a worried expression. He knew Sakura didn't want to go to the ball, but because of their father, she must. With courtesy he almost never showed her, Touya opened the door to the ballroom and extended out a hand towards the door, motioning for her to enter the bright room. With an slightly suprised look, Sakura entered the ballroom, followed by her attendants.  
  
As soon as the 15-year-old princess entered the ballroom, the king went into a state of excitement. Thank goodness she decided to come, he thought. The king went to the front of the room and ordered for silence. Once the noise ceased, the king addressed the guests. "Welcome to the annual ball. We are honored to have you all here. Today we have a special guest, my daughter, Sakura." All faces looked at Sakura, who blushed at all the attention. Sakura made a graceful courtsy. Everyone was shocked at her beauty, especially the court men who had challenged her father. It was a while before the guests went back to dancing. After the ballroom resumed its usual activities, Tomoyo led her princess to her seat.  
  
---  
  
Prince Li Syaoran stared at the princess, ever since she had entered the room. She's beautiful, he thought. He shook his head. This isn't the reason he was here. He was here to...  
  
"PRINCE LI! WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN?" Li's guard shouted at the prince. (not to loud, but pretty loud.)  
  
"Right here, Inu-Yasha." Li replied. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about our mission." Li looked around the room. "By the way, where are the rest of you guys?" Inu-Yasha pointed to the area with the drinks. Standing there were Shippo, Sango (without the boomerang and no Kirara, who was left outside because the guards wouldn't let her in) and Miroku, wearing a suit. They were fighting over which drink was better: Hawaiian punch, fruit punch, or cherry coke. Li smiled. His group of body guards were always like that, arguing over nothing. Of course, no drink was better than fruit punch.   
  
Inu-Yasha smiled. Good, the prince was still focused. Then, Inu-Yasha's smiling face turned to one of shock when the prince began walking towards the princess's throne. Guess I gave him too much credit, Inu-Yasha thought. Inu-Yasha walked back to the group, who were still fighting over the drinks.   
  
Outside, the young man with shades from yesterday had just arrived at the party with a smirk on his face. His cell phone rang. The young man answered the call. "Hello... I see..." He snapped the cell phone shut. "Perfect..." He strolled into the palace, followed by his servant.  
  
---  
  
"Princess, are you enjoying the ball?" Tomoyo asked.  
  
Sakura sighed. She had never been to a ball, but she always heard of them from her brother, who despised them. Now she understood why. They were so dreadfully boring. Sakura looked at her brother, who was standing in a corner unhappily surrounded by his so-called 'friends' who constantly asked him questions. The princess then looked at her parents. Her father was busily answering questions from the court men, who wanted to know all about Sakura, and her mother was still busily greeting guests who were just arriving. Sakura shifted her eyes and searched the crowd for a familiar face. No one, she thought. No one I know. Then, out of nowhere, Meiling appeared and was quickly approaching Sakura.  
  
"Sakura!" Meiling embraced the princess. Tomoyo, Naoko, Chiharu, and Rika smiled at the sight. Meiling let go of Sakura, who was very suprised.  
  
"Meiling!" Sakura said in an almost whisper. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm back from my mission." Meiling sat down next to Sakura.  
  
"What about your partner Kagome? What happened to her? Weren't both of you sent together by my father to retrieve the Shikon Jewel? Did you succeed?" Sakura was curious. Meiling, one of her best friends, as well as a professional spy, had been gone on this mission for months. Kagome, also one of her best friends, had also been sent on the mission, yet she was not here. Luckily, Meiling was ready to answer her princess's questions.  
  
"Princess, we are still working on it. Kagome decided to stay behind to await for an opening. She told me to come back and tell you. Tomorrow, I will return. Also..." Meiling lowered her voice to a very soft whisper. "The prince of the neighboring country is here. Be careful." Finished with her report, Meiling decided to get the princess up and dancing. "Come, princess. Why don't you go dance?"  
  
"Um... I..."   
  
"Princess, we know you dance beautifully." Naoko told her.  
  
"Besides, it beats sitting here, wasting your time. Try to enjoy this ball." Chiharu chipped in.  
  
"I beseech you, princess. We don't want to see you sad." Rika begged.  
  
Tomoyo smiled. "And remember to smile." She and the rest of the girls led Sakura out to the center of the room and left her, hoping that she would find a dancing partner without their help.  
  
Sakura didn't know what to do. Here she was, in the middle of the ballroom, just standing there. She looked towards her mother, but found her greeting a young man in shades. Guess she's still greeting new guests, Sakura thought. Now what am I supposed to do? I cannot enjoy this ball. I am too worried of the war over the magic stone. "Oh, I hate balls." Sakura said out loud.  
  
"As do I." A voice behind her replied to her statement. Sakura turned around and found herself face to face with a handsome boy around her age, peering into her eyes through his eye mask. "I was dragged out here, were you?"  
  
"Yes." What luck, Sakura thought. Someone is in my position as well. "I cannot dance well."  
  
"I cannot either, but..." The handsome boy bowed. "Would you like to dance with me?"  
  
Somehow, Sakura agreed. "Of course." Together, they waltzed beautifully around the room, both dancing better than any of the couples on the floor. (So much for bad dancing.)  
  
At the two opposite ends of the ballroom, Inu-Yasha and Meiling looked astonishedly with shock at the dancing couple. It was Prince Li Syaoran and Princess Kinomoto Sakura dancing happily and with much grace, the prince and princess of opposing countries.  
  
The man with shades just smiled at the sight.  
  
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How did you like that? Please R&R. Who is the man in shades? What the heck is he planning? Will Li reveal his identity to Sakura? Will Sakura find out? What's going on with Kagome? What is the crazy fic by Cohran? 


	3. Trouble

Many thanx to my first reviewer, me very happy you like my fic. To reply to your review, and to tell anyone else who is reading this fic (and aren't reviewing, shame shame) This will be as S+S and Kag+Inu. I was thinking of Sess+Kag, but... hehe... ^_^ That'll be for my other ficcie!! Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter!  
  
The Magic Stone  
  
Chapter 3   
  
"Yes, I always knew my sister looked liked that." Touya answered for the 50th time that evening. Apparently, everyone was shocked that the princess was so beautiful. Touya wasn't. Heck, he watched her grow up. Which reminded him, how was his sister enjoying her first ball? Touya skimmed the room and finally saw Sakura smiling... and dancing with a stranger. How dare he, Touya thought while he was glaring at the dancing couple, dancing with my little sister! (He's very protective of his sister.) Angered, stressed, and ready to pounce on the boy and pound his head in after their little cute dance was over, Touya watched in silence, controlling his emotions.  
  
Meiling stood in horror at the sight. How in the world did they end up dancing together? The prince! Ohmygosh! Prince Li Syaoran! That means... Meiling found the group of four (namely Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and Inu-Yasha) and became very distressed. Ugh. Things will get messy, no doubt about it. I better not let them see me. They're going to wonder when they see me what the 'new servant girl' at the Li palace is doing at this ball.  
  
WHAT THE HELL IS HE THINKING?!! Inu-Yasha screamed in his mind. Feh, I will never understand him, or any human! He's on a mission, and here he's... DANCING!!! What's up with him?! Where did his focus go (did he have any)?!! CR@P!  
  
"Hey, Inu-Yasha," Sango said. "What's - " Baffled at his blank face, Sango found what he was looking at. "Oh.. my... " Her eyes never leaving the sight, as afraid it would disappear, she got Shippo and Miroku staring as well.  
  
"Whoa. Whoa." Miroku said. "Looks like he finally found a girl. It's about time!"  
  
"But, Miroku!" Shippo cried. "It's the PRINCESS!"  
  
"Yea, so..." Then it came to him. "THE princess?!! Oh, $hit!"   
  
"Inu-Yasha, what should we do?" Shippo asked their hanyou leader.  
  
"LET'S GO BREAK UP THE COUPLE!" Inu-Yasha shouted furiously. He began stomping towards the center of the room.   
  
"WAIT!" Sango and Shipppo pulled Inu-Yasha back. "Listen, we need to break them up, but we have to be unnoticable!" Sango told them. "How about this, Miroku, you go ask the princess for a dance. The prince will definitely get the idea and back off."  
  
"Uh, I wouldn't be so happy if Miroku wanted to dance with me." Shippo warned after looking at Miroku's grinning face. "Why don't we get Inu-Yasha to ask?"  
  
"Because of his ears, we can't let him. The princess will notice something's definitely strange about him, and he's not human, not full human, at least." Sango told the kitsune. "Let's put this plan into action, and Miroku? No groping." Miroku's shoulders dropped considerably. He walked towards Sakura and Li with the mission to break up the couple, but he wasn't as happy as he was with the idea as he was moments ago.  
  
As Miroku was making his way through the dancers to reach the prince and princess, the young man with shades went up to Inu-Yasha and gave him a little piece of distressing news, causing Inu-Yasha to become even more angered and enraged.  
  
Meiling sighed. Thank goodness, they haven't noticed me yet. She looked at her best friend again, dancing with the prince. Good thing she doesn't know he's the prince of the enemy country. If she did... oh, no. Meiling saw the prince's bodyguard, Miroku, nearing the couple. Immediately, Meiling went towards Sakura and Syaoran, not wanting to blow her cover to the prince, but to stop Miroku's hands from groping Sakura's @$$ before it was too late.  
  
The prince, unaware that Miroku was nearing, was enjoying his waltz with the princess of the enemies. She's so beautiful, and she's a wonderful dance partner, he thought. If only she weren't the princess, Princess Sakura. Her name. Cherry Blossoms.   
What a beautiful name for such a beautiful princess.  
  
Sakura was in a trance. He dances so... well, she thought. If I didn't know better I'd think he would be a...  
  
"PRINCE!" Miroku shouted from about a yard away. Syaoran and Sakura covered their ears upon the word. "Prince Syaoran! Please come back with us. There's something really important we must discuss."  
  
Sakura looked up questioningly, "Prince... Syaoran..." At the moment, Meiling just so happened to arrive. "Meiling! Is he the prince?"  
  
"MEILING! Why in the sam hill are you here?" Miroku didn't know Meiling was undercover.  
  
"To make sure your licentious hands don't touch my princess!" Meiling shouted at Miroku, hands on her waist. By now everyone in the ballroom was watching. No one heard the prince part, they just heard Meiling's declaration of Miroku's pervertedness. The king and queen were appalled. Touya looked like he was ready to pounce on the suprised and abashed priest.  
  
"Whoa, whoa! Would ya keep it down?!" Miroku yelled at Meiling. Off in the distance, he heard the laughter of Sango and Shippo echoing in the ballroom. Augh. Colleagues.  
  
Sakura was still in shock over the fact that her "prince" was THE prince Syaoran Li. She didn't know what to say. At the moment, Syaoran was just putting his hand over his forehead, ashamed of watching Meiling and Miroku fight.  
  
"Pervert!"  
  
"Shaddup, brat!"  
  
"WHAT did you call ME?!"  
  
"A pissy old brat!"  
  
"Why you... @$$hole!" Meiling kicked Miroku hard on the face. The spectators clapped. Meiling stood proudly over Miroku.   
  
"You insolent, little..." Miroku calmed down. "Well, even though you are capable of bearing my child, I would never ask you, old lady."   
  
"OLD LADY?! Look who's talking, lecherous man!" Meiling attempted another kick, but this time Miroku was ready. Meiling's kick missed, and she was hit across the stomach by Miroku's stick (you know, that weird thingy he carries around with him? The pretty golden rod?) This time Meiling fell to the ground.  
  
The ballroom was silent as they were watching what was going to happen next. Sakura knelt beside her fallen friend and helped her get up. Tomoyo came out from behind the shadows to assist Meiling as well. In the meantime, the rest of the bodyguards of Syaoran came up behind Miroku.   
  
"Shame on you!" Sango pounded Miroku on the head. "Hitting a girl like that, even though she did insult you! That's no way to treat a lady! What happened to you?!"  
  
"Calm down, miss." Miroku assured Sango. "I am still the licentious priest you have always known, I just lost my composure because of a traitor."  
  
At this time, Syaoran decided to speak up. "Okay, I think we have caused enough raucus. Let's go home." Syaoran was wary of Touya's tigerlike eyes watching his every move. I'd better not blow my cover, Syaoran thought.  
  
"But prince Syaoran... " Shippo whined. "Can't we stay a little longer?" Upon hearing "Prince Syaoran" Touya charged at Syaoran with godlike speed (well, very fast). Luckily, Syaoran was able to dodge, and Touya just zoomed past them into another room of the palace. Syaoran looked at princess Sakura.  
  
"Goodbye, princess." He said to her. With a quick bow, Syaoran began to leave. Then he stopped. He didn't want to leave.  
  
Inu-Yasha saw his prince's hesitation. "FEH! Let's go, Syaoran! We have to go! We've got to stop Kagome from stealing the Shikon Jewel!" Immediately, Sakura woke up from her shock.  
  
"KAGOME'S STEALING THE JEWEL?!" Sakura shouted. As soon as she finished, there was a loud bang. Through the front doors of the ballroom came Ms.Kagome Higurashi, A+ Student, undercover spy for the Kinomoto's, Sakura's close friend, and the person the guards were chasing.   
  
In her right hand was the Shikon Jewel.  
  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________  
What is Kagome doing with the Shikon Jewel? Who is that mysterious man with shades? What did he say to Inu-Yasha? Why did Kagome all of a sudden run into the ballroom? Where the heck is YUKITO?! How will the king and queen react?  
  
All to be answered (I hope), in the next chapter.  
  
***  
  
Author's babble: WHAHAHA! "Her name. Cherry blossoms. What a beautiful name for such a beautiful princess." HAHAHA. (Sorry, I just had to laugh, I don't know why it's so funnie.)  
  
NOTE TO MY OBNOXIOUS FRIENDS WHO JUST HAD TO FIND OUT WHAT MY NAME WAS: SCREW YOU! (I don't mean it that way) Sorry to the person who reads this fic and always reviews. I thank you very much. My friend's are just on my nerves.   
  
THANX TO ALL WHO READ THIS FIC (with exception to miss reptile, sarcasm, and sanity if she ever finds out.)  
  
PEACE. 


	4. Captives

I just want to take the time to say "THANK YOU, silenthopechik, for R&Ring this FIC." Cohran is very thankful.  
Okay, yea, so there aren't too many CCS/IY fans. Oh well... hope you enjoy this chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: The usual. I do not own the characters from CCS or IY. I am just borrowing them for this 'story'.   
  
YAY!  
  
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Chapter 4  
--------------  
  
  
"Sakura-hime, I got the jewel!" Kagome ran quickly towards the princess, while the guards were chasing her for bursting into the ball, uninvited. Suddenly, Kagome froze. Inu-Yasha was holding a gun to Kagome's forehead.  
  
"Don't move." Inu-Yasha told her. "Now.. return the jewel to the prince, you traitor." The guards who were chasing Kagome caught up to her, and surround her in a circle.  
  
"Kagome-chan!" Sango said. "Why did you do it? Why did you steal the jewel?"  
  
Kagome smiled. "I work for Sakura-hime, and Sakura-hime only. I would never be loyal to another."  
  
"You B****!" Inu-Yasha got ready to fire the gun.  
  
"Inu-Yasha, I advise you put the gun away if you want to live." Inu-Yasha looked around him. He was surrounded by the palace guards who knew who Kagome was. The guards who were chasing Kagome in were also now surrounding him.   
  
"$hit." Inu-Yasha dropped his gun as Kagome smiled proudly.  
  
------  
  
"You were the prince?" was all Sakura could say to Prince Li, who had his hands tied to his back, like the rest of his bodyguards who were standing next to him.  
  
"Now, we will begin with the questioning." King Kinomoto called in the scribe. "Come in, Keroberos." Kero floated in with a tiny notepad in one hand, and a pen in the other. He seated himself beside the king and began to take notes. "#1. What were you doing at the party, Prince Syaoran?"  
  
Syaoran did not respond, for he knew if he told either of the two reasons he was there, he would get punished either way. Inu-Yasha decided to speak. "We, uh, wanted to see if the palace of this country was as, uh, grand as the stories say it is."  
  
"Shut up, Inu-Yasha!" Kagome snapped. "You know that isn't the reason! You're a pathetic liar!" Kagome bowed to the king. "King, yesterday, I overheard that they were coming to the ball to try and find our weakness in hopes to weaken our country so they can buy some time to find the secret behind the jewel."  
  
"Thank you, Kagome." Nadeshiko nodded in approval at the spy. "You have been of great help, getting the jewel back for us when your life was in danger." Then, she faced their captives. "As for you, hanyou... hehe... for lying to us..." Nadeshiko snapped once and Touya came in with a whip in his hands. He was grinning evily. Nadeshiko delighted in Inu-Yasha's scared face. Then she motioned Touya to leave the room, which he did. "One more lie, and that will be your reward... other than going to hell." The captives were slightly shaken.  
  
"Now," continued King Kinomoto. "Why did you steal the jewel from us?" There was a moment of silence, then Shippo spoke up.  
  
"No duh. We want our wishes granted!"   
  
"Young kitsune," Touya, who had come back into the room, began. "Do you know of the legend behind the jewel? How it was created? Why it is so important to our country?" Intimidated by the prince, Shippo tried to hide behind Sango, who nodded, telling Touya to explain. "You probably heard of Kikyo, the priestess who protected the jewel, right?"  
  
"Feh." Was Inu-Yasha's response. "She's long dead."  
  
"That's right. But Kikyo was from our kingdom. She was guarding it under the order of the king. Did you know that?" All of the captives' eyes widened in shock, except for Inu-Yasha, who just responded with another "FEH."  
  
"That's enough, Touya." Queen Nadeshiko commanded. Touya stepped back. All this time, Sakura and Syaoran were staring at each other, never breaking eye contact. Nadeshiko continued to talk. "Well, now. What should we do with our captives?"  
  
Touya's eyes were on fire. "Torture them. Especially that prince who dared dance with my little sister! Torture..." Syaoran looked at Touya with an angry expression, and Sakura cringed when Touya said torture for the second time. She didn't want the prince to be tortured... (BLINK BLINK) Suddenly, the lights went out.  
  
"Kukuku..." said a voice from above. Everyone looked up. The lights went back on, and standing on the balcony was the guy in shades.  
  
"Who are you?" Shouted Meiling. The young man jumped down and landed gracefully on the ground floor.   
  
"No..." Kagome put her hands to her mouth. "No, it can't be. Hojo?"  
  
"Kukuku... partially right." The young man took off his shades. Kagome and the Inu-Yasha crew gasped. It was Hojo, with evil eyes.   
  
"Who are you?" Inu-Yasha demanded to know.  
  
"You, hanyou." Hojo pointed to Inu-Yasha. "You of all people whould know who I am! I am Naraku, in Hojo's body."  
  
"Oh my gosh!" Sango cried. "I never thought such a castrophe could occur!"  
  
"Hey," Miroku said. "What happened to your baboon skin?"  
  
"Oh, that old smelly thing." Hojo/Naraku held out his sunglasses. "I traded it in for these pair of shades." Hojo/Naraku put the shades away.   
  
"Okay, okay, okay. HOLD IT!" King Kinomoto shouted. He pointed at Hojo/Naraku and asked Kagome, "Who is this guy? Is he in the cast of Inu-Yasha?"  
  
"Yea." Kagome replied unenthusiastically. She didn't look too happy to see Hojo/Naraku.  
  
"AHHHH!" Suddenly, there was a high pitch scream from Tomoyo. Everyone looked at her. Tomoyo said, "Princess Sakura isn't HERE!!!!!!!" Everyone looked around the room, then Shippo yelped.  
  
"Prince Syaoran isn't here either!" He said. It was true: Sakura and Syaoran had disappeared from the room.  
  
  
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What is Hojo/Naraku doing here? Why is Kagome so upset upon seeing him? Where did Sakura and Syaoran go to? AND WHERE IS YUKITO?!! (Whooops. He's still at the yam festival. Kind of left him there without a ride back. Gomen. I'm dialing for a taxi right away.) Keep your eyes open for more answers in the next chapter!  
  
Remember... review=progress. j/k. ^_^ But please R&R!  
  
-Cohran 


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